Novel electrolyzer and process

Abstract

A bipolar diaphragm or membrane electrolyzer comprising a housing containing an end anode element, an end cathode element and a plurality of bipolar elements with their major dimensions lying in a substantially vertical plane and comprised of a bipolar wall separating the anode compartment and the cathode compartment and vertical foraminous electrodes parallel positioned a certain distance from the bipolar wall, diaphragms or membranes separating the anodes and cathodes, a series of baffles distributed along the entire width of the electrode compartment and extending from the bipolar wall to the foraminous electrode to form a series of vertical flow channels extending over a large portion of the height of the wall, the said baffles being alternately inclined one way and the other way with respect to the vertical plane normal to the bipolar wall plane and spaced from one another whereby the ratio of the electrode surface intercepted by the edges of two baffles laterally defining a vertical flow channel to the flow section thereof is different from the ratio of the electrode surface intercepted by the edge of one of said two baffles and the edge of the adjacent baffle in the series and the flow section of the adjacent channel in the series to the said vertical flow channel, novel bipolar elements and improved methods of electrolysis.